Piers Morgan has been forced to delete a social media post he made shortly after Imane Khelif won Olympic gold in the women’s 66kg final in Paris on Friday night.
The Algerian, at the centre of a gender conflict that has dominated this summer’s Games, stormed to victory after she defeated China’s Yang Liu at a crowded Roland Garros, thus completing her controversial rise to first place in which she did not lose a single round.
The most anticipated fight of the Games turned into another failure, with the 25-year-old shaking her opponent to his core several times in front of a jubilant crowd.
Khelif, the heavy pre-match favourite at odds of 1/8, won every round with every judge and raised her arm in an apparent military salute before being carried around the ring on the shoulders of her delighted coach.
And the outspoken Morgan decided to wade into the ongoing saga with a misleading post on X, formerly Twitter, in the aftermath of the match, the Mirror defeated.
Piers Morgan has been forced to delete a social media post he made shortly after Imane Khelif won Olympic gold
Gender-riot boxer Imane Khelif won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris on Friday night
The outspoken Morgan decided to voice his opinion on the ongoing saga with an ill-advised post to X
The announcer said, “A biological male just defeated a biological male to win a women’s Olympic gold medal.
“Congratulations to everyone who supported this parody.”
In declaring Khelif “biologically male,” Morgan was referencing the language of the Russian-dominated International Boxing Federation, which used the term to describe the Algerian after she was banned from the world championships for an alleged “failed gender test.”
It’s unclear why the Piers Morgan Uncensored presenter described Liu as a “biological male,” but it’s possible he confused her with Lin Yu-Ting, who has also been at the center of the controversy.
The 59-year-old then posted a replacement message, which read: ‘BREAKING: A biological male just won an Olympic gold medal in a women’s boxing match.
“Congratulations to everyone who supported this parody.”
When he received criticism for his post from several social media users, Morgan wrote: ‘Imane was banned from the world championships after testing positive for male XY chromosomes. She did not appeal. If she is a biological female, she should now take a new test and prove it. Spoiler alert: she won’t’
The Taiwanese boxer was also suspended from the World Championship for the same alleged reason, but fights in a different weight class.
The most anticipated fight of the Games turned into another mismatch, with the 25-year-old shaking her opponent to his core several times in front of a rapt crowd
The Algerian defeated China’s Yang Liu in the welterweight final at a packed Roland Garros to complete her controversial rise to top spot in which she did not lose a single round.
The biological woman became involved in a heated dispute this summer
Many have questioned whether Khelif should have been allowed to compete in the women’s competition in Paris, where eligibility rules are less strict than at the World Championships. Another walk, this time to gold, will not have silenced those calls.
The IBA was stripped of its right to host the Olympic competition amid a war with the Games’ bosses, the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As a result, there are no gender or testosterone tests in Paris and the category is open to those who have “female” on their passports.
Khelif, who shouted “I am a woman” after winning the quarter-final, has become the target of a wave of online insults.
She came with a purpose. Another combination of her long left jab and explosive right hand asked too many questions of her powerless opponent who was brave but outclassed.
On Friday, Olympic President Thomas Bach again defended the right of both sides to box here, but added that he would be the first to introduce an agreed “scientifically based system.”
“This system works and that’s why our decision is clear,” he said. “Women should be allowed to compete in women’s competitions and the two are women.”
The IOC, which oversees boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics but did not organize the world championships, said Khelif was disqualified in India due to elevated testosterone levels.
However, after receiving a bye in the first round of the Olympics, Khelif, who also competed in the Tokyo Games, faced criticism after her fight with Italian boxer Angela Carini.
Khelif, the heavy favorite for the match, won every round with every judge tonight and raised her arm in an apparent military salute before being carried around the ring on the shoulders of her coach
Khelif secured a unanimous decision victory over Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng
Khelif (right) reached the final of the women’s 66kg boxing tournament on Tuesday
Within the first 30 seconds of their clash, Carini was punched in the face and went to her corner to have her headgear adjusted by her coach. Reports say she broke her nose in the process.
Although she continued briefly, Carini barely threw a punch before telling her opponent, “It’s not fair,” and then abandoning the match “for her own safety,” immediately dropping to her knees and crying.
The commotion surrounding Khelif’s participation in the Games continued during her second round match against Hungary’s Luca Anna Hamori.
The Algerian welterweight secured a unanimous decision victory over her opponent to secure a spot in the semi-finals of Paris 2024.
This time the tears were Khelif’s, after a great performance in which she was cheered by hundreds of noisy Algerians and later congratulated by the country’s president, who said she had “honored Algeria, Algerian women and Algerian boxing.”
Khelif shouted in Arabic as Algerian reporters translated that she had said: “I want to tell the whole world that I am a woman and I will remain a woman.”
As she walked to the locker room. Later, she thanked the IOC “who spoke the truth.” “Thank God this is the first women’s medal in boxing in Algeria,” Khelif added. “I can tell the Algerian people that I won a medal for Algeria and the Arabs.”
A few days later, she was seen exploding with joy after reaching the Olympic final in the women’s 66kg boxing event, thanks to yet another dominant performance in the ring.
The 25-year-old defeated Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng via unanimous decision to set up a gold medal fight against China’s Yang Liu.
After her victory was confirmed over the loudspeaker, Khelif began to celebrate by waving the index finger of her left hand.
She then paused her celebrations to give her opponent, now a bronze medalist, a chance to enjoy the crowd’s applause.
After Suwannapheng left the ring, Khelif returned to the center of the stage and began running on the spot with his knees drawn up, spinning around and appearing to shout something.
The crowd around the Phillippe-Chatrier court was packed with Algerian supporters and flags
Italian boxer Angela Carini revealed she wanted to apologize to her opponent Khelif
Carini retired from the match within 46 seconds and was in tears after her defeat
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting was disqualified from the world championships along with Khelif, but she was also allowed to compete in Paris and won her opening match on Friday
Later in the evening, Khelif said she was not bothered by the controversy surrounding her participation in the women’s 66kg boxing class.
After avoiding the massive media attention following her previous outbursts, Khelif broke her silence and said, “I don’t care what people say about me because of the controversy.
“The only thing that matters to me is to stay at the same level and give my people the performance they deserve. I know I am a talented person and this is a gift for all Algerians.”
Khelif’s participation in the Games has been a source of much controversy, with the Algerian previously disqualified after failing a gender eligibility test.
Although several people, such as Morgan, claim that Khelif was not born female, no evidence has been provided to support this claim so far.